


Spark

by Omuchgeekery



Series: Star Wars Rebels AU [1]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, I am all powerful here, Palpatine FAILED, life is good, shit has been altered to fit my needs, whoo here we go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-16
Updated: 2015-02-03
Packaged: 2018-03-07 20:30:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3182114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omuchgeekery/pseuds/Omuchgeekery
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kanan and his master are sent to Lothal, an Outer Rim world, to deal with some troublesome terrorists. However, the terrorists have been having some trouble of their own...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. And so it begins...

**Author's Note:**

> FIRST THINGS FIRST. I may not know too much about the extended universe, but I do know a little bit. According to _Shatterpoint_ , a Mace Windu-focused Clone Wars era novel, Depa Billaba - who was his padawan - fell to the Dark Side shortly after the beginning of the Clone Wars. While Mace managed to turn her back, she fell into a coma, which she remained in throughout the rest of the Clone Wars, the Jedi healers caring for her in the Temple. This means she died when the Order fell. Also, Depa Billaba also used form seven - a form Mace himself helped to complete, and which can cause the user to skirt dangerously close to the dark side. (in fact, Mace himself was the only user to _not_ fall to the dark side at some point) as her master taught her, I sincerely doubt she would not have taught at least a little of it to any padawan she had.  
>  Kanan, in canon, could be anywhere from late twenties to early thirties. Going by that, for him to have been Depa's padawan - and as far as I know, she _never_ had a padawan - he would've only been her padawan briefly, leaving before the Clone Wars started, which was 18-19 years before Rebels takes place. (though judging from recent episodes, he probably did actually leave during his training) This would mean he left between the ages of 7 and 14.  
>  While this is plausible, I have decided to assign Kanan to another Master. "But he learned form 3 from Master Billaba! They say so in the show!" Have you seen Episode 2? Yoda is teaching an entire class of younglings. Judging from what I know about Depa, she could have easily taught a class of younglings - in fact, it seems very in character for her. Besides that, she seems a bit dull to me. She's not terrible; I just prefer characters with a bit of spunk to them. Besides, from what I know of Kit Fisto (which is admittedly very little, other than the fact that he and Aayla Secura were in love and he was a badass), he's way cooler. Also in this universe he did not fall to Palpy when he and Mace went to arrest the bitch.  
> ((sighs)) okay, one more note: I have set Kanan as being 12 years older than Ezra. That means that, if this were in canon, Kanan would be 27 to Ezra's 15. In this fic, however, he is 19.  
> AND SO THE NOTE ENDS!!!!!!

"Wait, where?" Kanan asked his master, befuddled; he didn't recognize the name of their destination. Master Fisto chuckled, turning from the nav-system.

"It's in the Outer Rim, padawan. A group of terrorists apparently set up camp there, and they've been using the planet as a base of operations to strike at "Republic" targets. To these terrorists, however, a "Republic" target is any target they deem has enough civilians on it. The hutts were actually the ones to contact the Order."

"I hate helping the hutts," Kanan muttered under his breath, leaning back against his seat with his arms crossed. Their pilot snorted, tossing him an amused glance over her shoulder.

"You and me both, love," the twi'lek agreed, her droid tossing in a beep of agreement, "but just think of all the people these terrorists have killed."

"I know! I just-- I mean, I want to help--" he sputtered, face burning, and his master deposited a hand on his shoulder, giving him a wry grin.

"We know what you meant, Kanan. After all, we would not have our illustrious pilot here if you were not as compassionate as you were," the Nautolan master soothed, droid beeping derisively in the background. "Pilots, excuse me, Chopper."

"You shouldn't take him so seriously, love," the young twi'lek laughed, "he only acts that offended because you're so damn polite to him!"

"Ah, but he is your partner and one of our pilots," Master Fisto replied. "Besides, without him, while I'm sure you would still be quite talented, you would not be able to do many of your tricks." The droid beeped happily, little arms coming out to be waved around in glee.

"I'll give you that," she allowed, "but that doesn't mean you have to go around inflating his ego! The other droids at the Temple are beginning to get a bit annoyed at him."

"I didn't realize that many of the Temple droids had that much personality," Kanan laughed, embarrassment forgotten, and Chopper whistled and beeped along in agreement.

"Ah, but you forget, my padawan," Kit replied with a grin, "All of the non-Jedi pilots the Order employs who prefer to utilize their own droid, and don't wipe any trace of personality from them. Our dear Hera simply treats Chopper as a partner, and not just a member of her crew. Perhaps if she did so, Chopper would not be quite as headstrong. Of course, if she did so, they would not be the brilliant crew that has become the envy of quite a few other Jedi teams." Chopper tooted proudly, and Hera's shoulders stiffened, though when she glanced back, Kanan saw she was grinning beautifully, and her cheeks were darkened a bit.

"Well, the course is set," she replied after a moment. "Even with hyperspace, it'll take a while to get to Lothal. Your rooms have been unlocked, so-- oh! I found some more of that tea you liked, Master Fisto, it's in the galley. And Kanan, remember, Chopper has been known to cheat occasionally, so don't bet anything too important this time." She flashed them another grin, pulling out a datapad. "I'll be reading in here while Chopper finishes updating our tweaks if you need us in the next hour or so." Thanking them, the two Jedi retired to meditate.

\---

Meanwhile, on Lothal, a young thief was enjoying the spoils of his latest prank. He'd pretty much ruined the communications array, destroyed two of their ships (heh, no more anti-grav OR steering, and if they could straighten out what he'd done to the fuel systems, he'd be impressed), and stolen at least a week's worth of food. Well, five days at least. He'd made sure to pass it out to others, giving each of the other street kids enough that they could eat for a week or two, and stashing some of the non-perishables in a hiding place for when they couldn't get enough.

Yeah, Ezra was pretty proud of himself. After all, he managed to get as much as some of the kids twice his age sometimes. Life wasn’t perfect, but it was okay, though something told him things were gonna change around here pretty soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kit Fisto gives a mission briefing, Ezra speaks with friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so after receiving a review from Jillie_chan, I looked up Kanan again on Wookiepedia. WARNING! SPOILERS!!! So according to his article - which has changed MAJORLY since I last saw it, but whatever - Kanan was born Caleb Dume. He became Depa Billaba's padawan almost immediately before Order 66 - which majorly contradicts everything I’ve previously read about Depa (thanks for the retcon, Lucas, you asswipe). additionally, Kanan was 14 when he became Depa's padawan - ALSO contradicting previously established canon that indicates that if you aren't an apprentice by the time you're 13, you aren't gonna become a jedi (obi-wan himself nearly missed his chance; he was being sent to Agricorps when Quiggy finally gave in and took him on as an apprentice).  
> however, I have stated that this is an AU, so in this universe, he was born Kanan Jarrus, and Kit Fisto took him on as an apprentice when he was 11.  
> On another note, my guesstimate of Kanan's age in Rebels (which was 27) was very close - he's apparently 28!  
> Also, little fun fact I learned - Kit Fisto's preferred style of lightsaber combat? Soresu (Form III)!!!

"We're nearing Lothal," Hera's voice came, interrupting Kanan's practice. He looked to his master, who stood, nodding at the twi'lek.

"Finish your kata, padawan," Master Fisto instructed, "and thank you, Hera. We will join you in the cockpit shortly." Kanan resumed his practice, moving as if he had never paused. "From what we know of Lothal, it seems to be used as a spaceport, frequented by numerous species for a variety of reasons - smuggling, travel, business. Most of the natives live a more agrarian lifestyle, and a good deal of the land is utilized as farmland.”

"Kinda like a Tatooine-light?" Kanan joked, never once pausing in his motions.

"They have a bit more moisture than that," Kit replied, laughing, "but I'm glad you get the gist of it. And before you ask, yes, we will be posing as smugglers-" Kanan shot his master a smirk, eyes sparkling with mischief "-but it is troubling that you seem incapable of passing as anything else. Widen your stance there, it is too weak. See?" He had sent a Force nudge as he critiqued, toppling the teen.

"Why use something else when smuggler is the best disguise?" Kanan retorted from the ground. "They're all over the galaxy, and come from all races and walks of life! Besides, I don't _always_ disguise myself as a smuggler. A while back, I--"

"A bounty hunter is not that different from a smuggler," Master Fisto interrupted dryly, "and if I recall, that was not your idea, nor did it end well. Returning to the topic at hand, in the last few years, Lothal has been slowly taken over by the Jitsu Ralts, a relatively young gang intent on gaining as much power as they can as fast as they can, no matter the civilian cost. This has virtually shut down all trade on and around Lothal, as well as severely impacting the farming community. Our first objective will be to gain any information on the Ralts that we can, and then remove as much of their influence as we can."

"A gang? I thought they were terrorists," the teen interjected, finishing his kata.

"They are a gang that has recently been acting as terrorists, padawan. This makes them terrorists, no matter how you play it."

"Yes, master. Sorry." Kanan still hadn't fully mastered thinking about what he said before it escaped his mouth. He needed to work on that.

"And don't forget to hide your robes this time, padawan," his master drawled, not even bothering to hide his grin.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know." The two parted ways to change out of their robes and into their smugglers' disguises.

-

"But why would you _join_ them?! They killed your _mom!"_ Ezra protested, looking at his friend in horror.

"Yeah. But if I can get in, then I might be able to get information _out_ , Jai pleaded. "And then we can hit them better!"

"Jai, the only thing you're gonna get is yourself killed," Ezra hissed out, horrified. "Besides, they aren't very nice to kids like us!! Remember Zenon? She ended up killing _herself_ because of them!!"

"Don't you want to take them down? They killed your parents too, Ezra!"

"And I don't want to lose the best friend I've got to them too! Please, Jai!" Ezra begged his friend, terrified. Jai was the only person who really understood him, the only one he really let get close these days. "We can get information another way!! Don't do this to me, please!!" He was practically shaking his friend at this point, grabbing him in desperation.

"...fine," Jai responded defeatedly, looking away guiltily. Ezra exhaled, relieved, and pulled his friend into a tight hug.

"Hey, guys!" their friend Dev ran up, arms waving. Ezra releasing Jai as the two looked toward the other boy. "A ship just docked, said they brought food or something," he began.

"So what?" Jai interrupted, unimpressed but grateful for the distraction. "We still get smugglers now and then, Morgan."

"But one's a _female twi'lek!"_ came the immediate response, grabbing the other two's interest.

"Really?"

"I gotta see this!!"

\--

As they neared the space dock, however, the two best friends grew uneasy, slowing their pace. Something felt off, they could both sense it, though Dev seemed not to notice anything, urging them along.

"There were two others with her," Dev chattered as he led the way, oblivious to his friends' growing unease. "One was a human, and the other had all these tentacles instead of hair!! I don't know what he is, do you have any idea? They looked pretty cool, though, and they had a droid, too, just like that smuggler in the holovids!! Do you think they will get into a blasterfight? That would be so cool!" 

"Alright, Dev," Jai interrupted finally. "Where's this twi'lek you were talking about? I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to." Ezra nodded, ignoring Dev's protests. Something made him look to the side, though, meeting the eyes of a thoughtful-looking man. 

"She's over there," Dev enthused, but neither boy was listening anymore, instead focused completely on the man walking towards them, teal eyes focused solely on Ezra.


	3. In which Kanan is worse than Qui-Gon at picking up strays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is taking so long to get out; I had a giant plot bunny for another fandom decide to sit on me and refuse to let me write ANYTHING until I started that fic!

The Force had whispered the impending approach of two powerful Force-sensitives several minutes before the group of boys actually came into view. They seemed to be between six and eight, and all three were dressed rather haphazardly, and none of their clothes seemed to have been washed in weeks; Kanan guessed they were street kids, heart clenching painfully. One of them in particular though, seemed to draw his eyes like a magnet. The Force seemed to be almost singing when he realized he was slowly approaching them, unable to look away from the boy's deep blue eyes.  
  
He had almost reached them when the Force sent a warning pulse though him. Instinctively, he whipped out his lightsaber, spinning around, a blaster bolt deflecting off the blade instead of hitting one of the boys. Several of the attackers gaped, while one very red-faced human all but ignored Kanan, running towards the boys standing frozen behind him.  
  
"OI! THAT'S THE BLASTED THIEF!!!" Throwing a glance at his master for the nodded permission he already knew he had, Kanan deactivated his lightsaber and Force pushed the raging man back.  
  
"C'mon! You need to get out of here," he instructed, reaching towards the Force to help the boys understand he was not a threat to them. The two standing together hesitated, while the third, unable to feel Kanan's sincerity through the Force, panicked. The Force screamed danger at him, but Kanan was unable to stop the boy from running straight into the path of one of their attackers.  
  
The boy, thankfully, did not feel anything but the briefest flare of pain before he became one with the force, but the anguish that immediately howled around his friends nearly sent Kanan to his knees.  
  
"DEV!!" both boys screamed, and it took a Forceful nudge from his master to get Kanan moving again, grabbing the two by the wrists and dragging them along with him, struggling to get free and go back to their friend. Master Fisto sent a pulse of urgency to him, and he glanced back, seeing his master and friend trying to keep the attackers' attention on them so he could get the boys to safety. Unfortunately, several of the attackers seemed to be very single-minded in their attempt to extract vengeance on the boys, and Kanan released their wrists, clipping his lightsaber back onto his belt before grabbing them around their waists in one smooth motion, strengthening himself with the Force before running away, the two still screaming for their fallen friend.

\---

By the time Kit Fisto caught up with them, Kanan had managed to calm the two enough to get them someplace safe - surprisingly. Kit had always been better at that then Kanan, and to be honest, he was a little worried at how the two children seemed to be taking their friend's sudden demise. There were no tears, no blubbering, just shock and anguish, which they managed to push away frighteningly fast for someone their age.  
  
It made Kanan a little sick, actually, from what that told him of their lives underneath the reign of the Jitsu Ralts.  
  
"Hera?" he asked his master, only a tiny bit worried for his twi'lek friend; the 18-year-old had more than proven that she was capable of taking care of herself if need be, and Chopper was surprisingly resourceful and often overlooked as an opponent. The two would be fine, especially if the Ghost had managed to make it out of the fight in one piece.  
  
"She decided she did not approve of the spaceport here, and would be looking to see if she could find better accommodations elsewhere" came the answer, drawing a snort from one boy and a weak grin from the other. "And our two friends here are?" The boys looked at each other, clearly communicating silently. Finally one spoke.  
  
"You're Jedi knights," the blue-eyed boy stated more than asked. Master Fisto started to nod in response, but Kanan beat him to it, speaking before he knew he was going to say anything.  
  
"Kinda. I mean, yeah, he is, He's Master Kit Fisto. But me, I'm not a knight yet; I'm just an apprentice. I am still a Jedi, though. I'm Kanan." The boys just stared at him for a moment, blinking, their image of the ever-stoic jedi hero clearly just crushed under the weight of Kanan's big mouth. Kit's amusement trickled though the bond, though only the corner of his mouth showed any movement.  
  
"Uh, right," the boy said after a minute. "My name's Ezra."  
  
"I'm Jai," the other chimed in.  
  
"It is an honor to meet you," Master Fisto said, inclining his head. Kanan didn't really feel they had time for pleasantries, however.  
  
"Why were those men chasing you?" He crossed his arms, leaning back as the two looked at each other, arguing with their eyes for a short time before turning back to master and apprentice.  
  
"Those were the Jitsu Ralts," the brown-haired boy - Jai - informed them somewhat reluctantly. "They were chasing us because, well..."  
  
"We've kinda been messing with them for a while," The other finished. "We'll disable their speeders, damage their communications array, make sure their fuel tank is open... you know, anything to cause them trouble. Meanwhile, we've also been stealing food for ourselves and the other street kids."  
  
"Not that there's many of us left now," Jai added bitterly. "They keep grabbing kids and sending them to work somewhere."  
  
"Well our mission is to take down these Ralts," Master Fisto informed, and both boys' eyes shot to him, hope and relief blossoming in their features.  
  
Kanan felt like his heart was in a vice.  
  
"Do either of you have any families?" he asked, then cursed himself as their faces immediately fell.  
  
"They got my parents over three years ago," Ezra started, leaning into his friend slightly. "Kai's mom took me in, but-"  
  
"They killed her less than a year later. We've been on the streets ever since," Jai stated tonelessly.  
  
Kanan's gaze shot to his master, who immediately started to look reproachful. "Kanan-"  
  
"We can't just leave them here! And don't tell me you couldn't feel them; it would actually be less responsible to leave them here untrained-"  
  
"Kanan, they're too old to-"  
  
"No they're not! They're what, six? Seven?" He turned to the now bewildered boys, staring at him before Jai realized they were waiting for an answer.  
  
"Uh, seven. We're seven."  
  
"Ha! That’s not that much older than I was, and that's _still_ younger than Skywalker-"  
  
"Anakin Skywalker was a special case," his master cut in, "and you know it."  
  
"And this isn't?!" Kanan exclaimed. Kit sighed tiredly, and Kanan knew he had won. "Master, the only reason they weren't sent to the Temple is because they live in the Outer Rim," he reasoned.  
  
"Wait, what? Temple?! You're not gonna make us be like monks or something, are you?" Ezra blurted out, prompting a laugh from Master Fisto.  
  
"No, not monks," the Nautolan sighed, resigning himself to explaining the situation - and the strays - to the council. "However, we could take you to be trained as Jedi, if you allowed it," he suggested, and smiled at the way their eyes seemed to double in size.  
  
"You're kidding," Jai half-asked. Why would the Jedi want two street kids from the Outer Rim?  
  
"Back at the spaceport, I could feel you two coming before you even turned the corner," Kanan informed them. "You two are strong in the Force. After we complete our mission, we'll take you back to the Temple with us. If you want."  
  
The two had one more silent discussion, though it ended fairly quickly.  
  
"One condition," Ezra countered. "We help you take them down."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly have no idea how they're gonna go about taking the Ralts down. I had some idea when I started to write the fic, but then aforementioned plot bunny kinda squashed most of the ideas out of me. Do you guys want me to go ahead and try, or should I just skip ahead to the flight back to the Temple? (and just so you know, it will probably take longer for the former)  
> I could always come back and write the gang take-down at some point in the future...


End file.
